Chapter 800 - 48: An Unprecedented Era of Prosperity, Gu Rui’s Demise

Fortunately, the influence of the Gu Clan in the Western Regions is also considerable.

In addition to the interference of the Imperial Censorate.

Especially now, the quality of officials in the Great Song is not low, so all this doesn’t require much effort from Gu Rui.

Almost everyone hopes Gu Rui can take a good rest for a period of time.

Especially the younger members of the Gu Clan.

For the unification of the world, the Gu Clan has already paid too much.

Generations of arduous efforts.

Now, finally seeing the dawn, they all wish for Gu Rui to fulfill his own ambitions.

But how could someone like Gu Rui be idle?

It’s not because of his character, but because of his identity.

The Gu Clan has been glorious for a thousand years.

However, looking at the development of the Gu Clan, in terms of the current binding relationship between the Gu Clan and the Great Song, it can definitely be said to be the greatest among them.

The imperial court... Kyushu... even the royal family.

All of this is inseparable from Gu Rui.

Although he doesn’t have the title of emperor, Gu Rui has often done everything that an emperor should do.

It was not only him.

The younger generations of the Gu Clan have almost all been the same.

The various issues of the Great Song need them to personally resolve.

And this is also continuously exhausting Gu Rui, from which he fundamentally cannot escape.

The most crucial point is—

The several emperors of the Great Song have indeed been quite inadequate.

In Gu Yi’s view, their abilities don’t even match those of a few among the original ones.

Their only merit might be that they don’t like to meddle in affairs, enjoying themselves in the palace instead.

From many perspectives, this might indeed be considered their greatest merit.

But this also destined that the burden on the Gu Clan only grows heavier.

Gu Rui cannot stop his steps.

....

Time flies, and years pass like a shuttle.

——In the blink of an eye, three years have passed.

The span of three years, for this land that has suffered from war yet nurtures new life, was enough to see dramatic changes.

The national power of the Great Song, in these three years, has once again reached an unprecedented peak.

The newly annexed territories of Shaanxi, Hetao, the West River Corridor, and parts of the Central Capital Road quickly overcame the scars of war under strong assimilation policies and a mature commercial system.

With grains, farming tools, craftsmen, and technology from the Central Plains being incessantly imported via newly built official roads and restored post stations, the local animal husbandry, mining, and specialty products developed rapidly, integrating into the economic cycle of the Great Song.

The Customs House in Kaifeng saw its annual income climb year after year, with heaps of rare and exotic goods from overseas stacking up.

And along the reconnected Western Regions trade routes, camel bells rang continually, as glass from Persia, spices from Arabia, fine jade from Khotan, silk from Jiangnan, porcelain from Jingdezhen, and brocades from the Shu Region intersected, forming a unique trade system.

The wealth of the Western Regions supported the rapid consumption of these goods used exclusively by nobles, continually stimulating the economies in various places.

At the court, under the direction of Gu Rui, special Jinglu Offices tailored for the newly annexed territories were already showing preliminary success.

Yet the entire world order, in these three years, quietly solidified.

The Western Xia and Liao states, like two wounded beasts, licked their wounds, striving to maintain a facade of decency, but the internal decline and turmoil could no longer be concealed.

Even Gu Yi was somewhat astonished at this situation.

With the succession of generations.

The quality of ministers in Western Xia and the Liao state continued to decline at a visible rate.

There were many factors involved.

Not only because of their oppression of the people, but more so because the Great Song was simply too strong, having already absorbed too much talent ahead of them; this was naturally fatal for a dynasty.

This was entirely a vicious cycle.

Those interest groups would not care about the rise and fall of the state, only looking at immediate benefits.

These problems occur at the end of any dynasty.

The current Liao state and Western Xia are in this situation.

——Especially the Western Xia!

The Great Song’s actions in reclaiming the entire Western Regions have completely extinguished any chance Western Xia had of developing again, directly restricting all commerce in Western Xia.

Merchants and nobles in Liao had a fair amount of experience with this.

Because they had been like this before.

But Western Xia was different!

——This undoubtedly aggravated the oppression of the people by these nobles.

This whole series of factors proved extremely fatal, deteriorating the situation in the entire Western Xia.

And faced with this state, everyone clearly realized a critical issue.

——After many years, the opportunity to unify Kyushu has finally arrived!

Even officials within the Great Song court no longer resist going to war.

Over the decades, every time the Great Song waged war, it brought them considerable benefits. Who would resist going to war?

Almost everyone was rubbing their hands, awaiting Gu Rui’s command.

Unfortunately... as the one most eager to see this scene, Gu Rui had already reached the end of his life, no longer able to hold on.

Kaifeng, Grand Tutor’s residence.

Gu Rui lay on the sickbed, emaciated, his once insightful eyes now deeply sunken, with only occasional glimmers of unfinished brilliance.

Gu Hong and several younger members of the Gu Clan stood quietly outside the screen, even breathing lightly for fear of disturbing the person on the bed.

Several old ministers who refused to leave waited in the courtyard, occasionally glancing at the tightly closed door, their expressions grave.

"Lin’Er..."

A weak call broke the silence, and Gu Lin immediately leaned closer.

"The land reclamation in the Western Capital..." the old man’s voice was faint, yet every word was clear, "Has the spring sowing gone smoothly?"

"The pests reported by the Imperial Censorate..." he paused, struggling to continue, "Have they been cleared out?"

Even at this moment, he cared about this land and its governance.

Gu Lin held his father’s withered hand, suppressing the choke in his throat: "Father, rest assured, the Western Capital had ample rain this spring, and the new agricultural tools have all been distributed."

"The Imperial Censorate and the Ministry of Justice jointly handled the case last month, and all involved clerks have been dealt with according to the law, with the chief criminal publicly executed."

Gu Rui nodded slightly, his fingers gently moving in his son’s palm, and his gaze drifted slowly to the map of Kyushu across the wall, which generations of the Gu Clan had gazed at lifelong. When his eyes passed over the untouched territories of Western Xia and Liao, a trace of regret flickered in them.

How could there not be regret?

This map of territories carried the dreams of four generations of the Gu Clan.

Since Gu Jin, it had been hung here, always hoping to one day see the reunification of Kyushu, yet it remained unfulfilled one after another.

Today, it was his turn.

"Father won’t... see the day when the land is unified..." Gu Rui gasped, each word seeming to use his last breath, "But this world... will eventually be unified... the grand trend... is formed..."

His gaze refocused on Gu Lin’s face, with a final entrustment: "The Gu Clan’s millennial reputation... relies not on power games... but on the commitment to Kyushu..."

"You... you all... mustn’t... betray..."

The old man took a deep breath, using his remaining strength to speak each word: "Don’t squander... these generations’ efforts... and this... the hope of all the people..."

His voice faded, until it was no more.

The eyes that gazed at his son, the future of the family, the vast world, slowly closed.

The grasping hand on his descendant’s also gradually loosened, falling powerlessly.

In an instant——

Crying echoed across the universe.

Crying resounded from the quiet room, to the hall, to all of Kaifeng, spreading throughout the world....

——————

"In the fifteenth year of Longhe, spring.

The current Grand Tutor and Patriarch of the Gu Clan, Gu Rui, passed away at the residence in Kaifeng.

Gu Rui inherited his ancestors’ will, administered for decades, expanding borders, organizing the army, enriching the country, and strengthening the military, truly a key figure in ushering in the Great Song’s prosperous era.

Yet the division of Kyushu remains, with unification unachieved, he departed with undone aspirations, passing suddenly.

Yet, his legacy is profound, leaving an unprecedentedly strong foundation, establishing strategies to clear the universe, enabling successors to follow his track and finally accomplish the grand plan of ’Unity of the Four Seas,’ all relying on the eternal foundation he laid."

——"History of Song. Gu Clan"